As a non-native Minnesotan (though I’ve been here more than 20 years), the meat raffle, until recently, was foreign to me.

Growing up in rural eastern Wisconsin, we had plenty of odd dive-bar traditions, but the meat raffle just wasn’t one of them.

But after doing some diligent research (and winning a boatload of meat) over the past few weeks, I have fallen for the humble event, which always benefits charity, often youth sports organizations.

Meat is displayed beneath the paddle wheel that will determine the lucky winner at Bulls Horn Food and Drink in Minneapolis in Jan. 2019. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

If you’ve never been to a meat raffle, it might seem odd to buy a ticket and win a steak, but after the first few times you walk back to your table holding some rosy chops, wrapped in plastic, it seems, well, normal.

Tom Barrett, executive director of the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, says there’s a reason I hadn’t heard of the meat raffle until I moved here.

“It’s a very Minnesotan thing,” Barrett said.

The origins of the meat raffle are unclear, but the state started regulating and keeping track of the events in 1985, and they were already a well-established part of the state culture.

Minnesota is one of a few to regulate and keep track of earnings from charitable gambling, and Barrett said that nonprofits last year earned around $12 million from “tip board” events, the majority of which are meat raffles under exempt licenses, meaning that the charity holds fewer than five such events per year.

In all, charitable gambling, including pull-tabs and other forms, earned $2 billion for nonprofits in Minnesota last year, which is a record.

At Bald Man Brewing in Eagan, you can play bingo in between meat raffle rounds. Jan. 2019 photo. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Tickets for meat raffles, which generally cost $1 apiece, are sold per round, generally in quantities of 30, and winners usually take home one package of meat. Meat we’ve won includes bacon (lots of bacon), meat sticks, meatloaf, burgers and a whole chicken. Generally there are steaks and chops available, too.

The first time I attended, a friend and I hit the very popular, and fairly new, event at Bull’s Horn Food and Drink, chef Doug Flicker and his wife, Amy Greeley’s dive bar in Minneapolis’ Nokomis neighborhood. Being meat raffle newbies, my friend and I made the mistake of showing up late.
The raffle began at 6 p.m., and though we’ve been told they have increased the amount of meat offered due to popular demand, on the night we went, it was over by 7 p.m.

We won a giant pack of meat sticks from Everett’s Meats in one of the last rounds. Before that, we watched a woman who was eating alone (and buying raffle tickets) win so many packages of steaks and chops that other customers started giving her the side-eye. She joked that she’d have to leave via the kitchen to keep from getting mobbed, and a few people told her she should definitely buy a lottery ticket.

Sometimes, you get lucky.

At our next stop, Bald Man Brewing in Eagan, we experienced the joy of a bingo/meat raffle combo. Bar bingo rounds are punctuated by raffle drawings, and the Sunday events are popular. Really popular.

“It’s so funny how hyped people get about winning meat,” said brewery co-owner Dan Jacobs.

He said the brewery partnered with the Eagan High School Football boosters about a year and a half ago, and the raffles have turned slow Sundays into very busy days.

Bacon, like this pack we won at Bennetts Chop and Railhouse in St. Paul in Jan. 2019, is a popular meat raffle prize. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

“It gets people in here,” Jacobs said. “Fridays and Saturdays we sell a heck of a lot more beer. I mean, it’s not a big beer drinking crowd, but we sell some beer and we get some exposure, so it’s a big success. And we used to have to convince food trucks to come on Sunday, but now they fight over Sundays.”

Pro tip if you plan to attend: Get there early and be prepared to jump in line for meat raffle tickets as soon as “Bingo!” is called. The tickets sell out so quickly that we didn’t get even one in the first few rounds.

Still, we came home with a giant package of burgers that we fully intend to cook and eat as soon as we can shovel out the grill.

When Urban Roots, an organization that teaches teens to grow and cook their own food (and sell it in salad form at Twins games) announced that it was having a meat raffle event at Indeed Brewing in Northeast Minneapolis, it was a foregone conclusion that we would be there.

It was while sitting at the taproom bar that we experienced our biggest meat-raffle winning streak, taking home 2 pounds of bacon, a stick of summer sausage, a meatloaf (from fancy meat market Clancy’s!) and a whole free-range chicken. The group had partnered with several purveyors of high-quality meat products and had more prizes than other raffles we attended. It was, in short, awesome. People kept stopping by to admire our pile of meat, and in more than one case, we were eyed with suspicion.

Like I said, sometimes you get lucky.

MEAT RAFFLES

Want to try one out, or just looking for a new spot to win some meat? Here’s a list to get you started. Did we miss your favorite meat raffle? Send us a line at eat@pioneerpress.com and let us know!

Jess Fleming has been with the Pioneer Press since 1999, and has been covering the Eat beat since 2012. She is an adventurous eater, cook and gardener, but will only grow something she can eat. She is a graduate of the journalism school at the University of Minnesota and a native of Eastern Wisconsin, where she grew up eating good brats, good cheese and fresh vegetables from her dad’s garden.

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